Another report indicating the good health of the winter snowpack. The Northern Sierra snowpack is now 120-percent of normal, compared to 108-percent a month ago, according to the second of four surveys conducted by the State Department of Water Resources. That’s the best number of the three regions. It’s 116-percent in the Central and Southern ranges. DWR Information Officer Doug Carlson credits the stormiest January in five years. And the few systems we had LAST winter were fairly warm…

click to listen to Doug Carlson

On Monday, the Nevada Irrigation District reported a snowpack of 122-percent of average. And there was 15 inches of rain in Grass Valley in January. Meanwhile, Carlson says the state’s major reservoir levels are still significantly below normal….

click to listen to Doug Carlson

Oroville Dam is still only 67-percent of average, but it was 47-percent a month ago. It’s also improved significantly at Lake Shasta, from 51 to 77-percent. Water Resource Officials say the snowpack will need to be around 150-percent of average for the last survey in early April before they can say the drought has eased. The snowpack supplies about 30-percent of California’s water needs.